Lesson 1 - "Rusty Cage" Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage" is played in drop-B tuning, which is standard tuning with the low E string tuned down to B (low to high, B A D G B E.) Here, Guitar World's Andy Aledort shows you how to play the two intertwining parts of the intro, as well as the verse part, which is a variation of the intro riff played an octave lower.
For the full tabs and notes on this lesson, check out the January issue of Guitar World. Buy the issue here
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Lesson 2 - "Rusty Cage" Chorus In this video, Andy Aledort shows you the chorus of "Rusty Cage" along with a lead-in to the bridge section and the bridge itself. The latter two parts make use of some odd time signatures, a favorite tool of Soundgarden.
For the full tabs and notes on this lesson, check out the January issue of Guitar World. Buy the issue here
This is the Player for GW V2.0
Lesson 3 - Soundgarden Here, Andy shows you some of Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil's favorite tunings and tricks. Soundgarden make extensive use of drop tunings, so all of the riffs here use either drop-B or drop-D (low to high, D A D G B E) tuning.
For the full tabs and notes on this lesson, check out the January issue of Guitar World. Buy the issue here
This is the Player for GW V2.0
Lesson 4 - Alice in Chains Alice in Chains are another grunge band that made good use of dropped tunings, with Jerry Cantrell leaning heavily on drop-D tuning, tuned an extra half step down (a tuning Jerry picked up from Van Halen's "Unchained".) In the video, Andy will show you some Alice in Chains-sounding riffs in drop-D, along with a Cantrell-style solo ala "Them Bones".
For the full tabs and notes on this lesson, check out the January issue of Guitar World. Buy the issue here
This is the Player for GW V2.0
Lesson 6 - Nirvana Nirvana's Kurt Cobain liked to play in standard tuning tuned down a full step (low to high, D G C F A D). Andy starts out by showing you a lick, ala "Come As Your Are", that makes cool use of effects to give you "that swirly, underwater sound." The final riff, ala "Territorial Pissing", points out grunge's punk roots as it uses a lot of Ramones-style power chords.
Guitar World Associate Editor Andy Aledort is recognized worldwide for his vast contributions to guitar instruction, via his many best-selling instructional DVDs, transcription books and online lessons. Andy is a regular contributor to Guitar World and Truefire, and has toured with Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers, as well as participating in several Jimi Hendrix Tribute Tours.
